Public Statements

King Statement on Appointments to New Public Safety Wireless Broadband Panel

Statement

Today, Rep. Peter T. King (R-NY), Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, an early advocate for the reallocation of the D Block portion of the communications spectrum to public safety for the establishment of a national interoperable public safety wireless broadband network, issued the following statement on the appointment of the first members to the panel that will oversee the network's development. The 12 appointees of the new First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) were announced this week by Acting Secretary of Commerce Rebecca Blank.

King said: "As the first Member of Congress to introduce legislation to reallocate the D Block for public safety, I am pleased to see these appointments, which I consider significant progress toward the establishment of a national interoperable wireless broadband network for use by first responders as they work to save lives across the country.

"I am especially pleased by the appointment of NYPD Deputy Chief Charles "Chuck" Dowd, who has been instrumental in the long-running effort to reserve sufficient spectrum and funding for the establishment of the network. I am pleased to see that "New York's Finest' will be represented on FirstNet."